Slipknot- All Hope Is Gone Review

If you thought Nu-Metal was about to fade guess again. Slipknot has single handedly saved Nu-metal with their release of their new album All Hope Is lost.

In what seems like forever (4 years to be exact) slipknot has returned with their best and arguably most brutal work ever. This is hands down the best Nu-metal album ever created and Slipknot has upped the ante for other nu-metal/metal bands in general. The opening instrumental/song gives you a feel for the direction the album is going in and as soon as you hear Joey beating those drums, you know your ears are in for a treat.

The album first song is somewhat of a continuation of the opening instrumental track and it picks up where Joey left off. This continues on through the first 4 songs at which point we get a taste of the more melodic side of Slipknot. It’s obvious that Root and Taylors band Stone Sour had some influence on Corey Taylor in this album, this also holds true in the most shocking song on the album.

If you were to hear “ballad” and “Slipknot” in the same sentence you would probably say I’m crazy, however, this is the case and there is a ballad on this album. This is the strongest track on the album and definitely has “hit single” written all over it. The title track ends the album and picks up where it left off before the slower tracks on the album (Dead Memories and the aforementioned ballad Snuff).

It goes out the same way it started by kicking your ass and taking your name in the process. Musically speaking, in every sense, this is the best work Slipknot has ever produced and I can only hope the new album will continue the efforts of this. There is really nothing bad that you can point out about the album, except maybe the running time which clocks in around one hour.

Slipknot is back in a big way and is poised to take over as the leaders of the Nu-Metal Scene with this album. The Part that sticks out the most about the album is the incredible drummer of Joey Jordinson. The lyrics are also the darkest the band has ever written and when Corey Taylor says this album will “rip your fucking face off” he isn’t lying. This is exactly what the album does. Another strong part of the album? The Work of the guitarist Jim Root and Mick Thompson. While this album isn’t for most, and I can guarantee it isn’t, it is a worthy pick up and the best album of the year so far.

Final Score-100%

Slipknot is:

Sid Wilson-Turntables/Keyboard

Joey Jordinson-Drums

Chris Fhen-Percussion

Jim Root-Guitar

Craig Jones-Samples

Shawn Crahan-Percussion

Mick Thompson-Guitar

Corey Taylor-Vocals

For Fans Of: Stone Sour, Korn

Produced By: Dave Fortman

Recorded At: Sound Farm- Jamica, Iowa

Label-Roadrunner Records/Nuclear Blast

Tracklisting:

1. “.execute.”
2. “Gematria (The Killing Name)”
3. “Sulfur” 
4. “Psychosocial”
5. “Dead Memories”
6. “Vendetta”
7. “Butcher’s Hook”
8. “Gehenna”
9. “This Cold Black”
10. “Wherein Lies Continue”
11. “Snuff”
12. “All Hope Is Gone”

Slipknot @ Myspace

An Open Letter To John Mccain

Matt Friction & The Pink Spiders have written an open letter to John Mccain. The letter can be seen in the comments.

The Cast Before The Break – “As Your Shoulders Turn On You” Review

The Cast Before The Break – As Your Shoulders Turn On You

1. Onward Love
2. From The Earth At A Crossroad
3. Agnosia
4. Understanding The Universe
5. Cerca Trova
6. Relying On A Respirator

“I’m terrified of who I am inside. I’m a broken matchstick man, be my conduit.”

What if Thursday and Moving Mountains had a baby? The Cast Before The Break is the exact and only answer to that question. Released in March, I actually just discovered the band and their EP As Your Shoulders Turn On You after scouring through Absolutepunk.net’s “Absolute 100″ feature. So why am I even reviewing it, you ask?

Well, because this album is special. This is that rare album that comes out once a year – maybe. As Your Shoulders Turn On You is this years Pneuma.

The album starts with “Onward, Love,” a six minute mostly instrumental track that sets the tone for the rest of the album – moody, atmospheric, but yet carrying an overarching epic feel to each movement in the song. Lyrically explaining that we are our own instruments to destruction, the song leads into “From The Earth, At A Crossroad,” arguably the most accessible song on the album. A pacing beat around a floor-tom and snare behind a simple bass line carries a ridiculous amount of intensity up to each chorus, then back to the same beat up until the ending, which brings the ceiling of the song down on you with crashing guitars and vocals demanding that “If Jesus taught you everything, then nothing is what you’ve learned.” But, the song is actually about a car accident and everything that surrounds it. I know, tons of songs about accidents, right? Here’s what I kept from you: this album is about the narrators last half hour of life as it is played out through the EP. Self discovery, loneliness, and revenge are all explored in many different ways, from the mostly acoustic “Relying On A Respirator” to the beautiful “Understanding The Universe.”

So what makes this album so special besides that it is a genius idea for a concept album? Well, for starters, Geoff Rickley is pretty much fronting this band. TJ Foster, the vocalist, nails his Geoff impression throughout the album. I am not kidding when I say that I imagine Geoff singing some of these songs when I am listening. From the strained vocals to the unmeasurable passion, the vocals really shine throughout the EP.

However, there is no better way to say it: this album is strong because the songs are just really well written. Every song is epic. Every song goes from tons of instruments to just a basic piano and percussion arrangement, and yet, nothing feels left behind. The energy is retained. The EP carries absolutely no filler within itself, and everything that happens in each song is there for a reason. Nothing feels forced. Nothing feels misplaced. The flow of the sounds is quite simply breathtaking. This is an EP that needs to be listened from the beginning to the end, not from the middle.

“As Your Shoulders Turn On You” will be a contender for one of the top albums of 2008 and may possibly take the crown. There simply is no better way to say it. Whether its the hard hitting ending of “Cerca Trova” or the trick ending to “Understanding The Universe,” The Cast Before The Break keeps raising the bar song after song during your first listen. Very few albums have left me so impressed on the first listen – to name a few, Vheissu, Pneuma, and Transatlanticism were albums that left me with similar impressions. Big things are going to happen to this band. Just wait and watch.

Rating: 9.4/10

RIYL: Moving Mountains, Thursday, Moving Mountains, Thursday, Moving Mountains, Thursday

Sax Player From Dave Matthews Band Found Dead

The Saxaphone Player From Dave Matthews Band has passed away. Details can be found here.

A tribute to Him:

R.I.P

The Academy Is Review

Generally when you think of Summer bands and albums you think of bands like New Found Glory and Blink 182. You can Now add The Academy Is to this list.

The band is back and in Summer fashion and a what seems to be recurring high school theme The Academy is take the crown for Summer Gems. However, This is far from the bands best work and should not be discounted as a poor album or a “slump” album.

Right off the bat you can tell the band has continued to mature musically and William Becketts voice has gotten better since Santi. As I touched on before there seems to be a recurring theme of Relationships/Higschool/Friendship throughout.

The first song(which also happens to be the first single) kicks off on a high gear and dosent look back and this continues on into the third song(His Girl Friday). On the fourth song you can see the natural progression/maturation of the band again and its also one of two ballads on the album. The Next 2 songs kick right back into the energetic The Academy Is that fans have grown to know and love and the production on these songs is superb.

After The Last Midtown Show is the best song on the album and features Andrew Mcmahon of Jacks Mannequin fame and is a beautifully structured song and is arguably the best song the band has ever written. After that the album gets a little weak and doesn’t really end on that high of a note which is where my problem lays with this album. It starts off really strong and just falters towards the end. Perhaps the band could have arranged the song order differently to have avoided this problem.

The album seems to have the best elements of Almost There and Santi but there’s something missing that I just cannot put my finger on. The album does have more strong points than weak points going for it. Musically(production wise, sound wise) this is the best the band has ever sounded. It’s mature and energetic and captures the style of the band perfectly, and the two what seem to be ballads do not take away from this at all.

The band seems to have also rushed this album it released 15 months after Santi and this is generally unusual for a band to do. Would I Recommend this album to people? Absolutely. Would I say its the bands best work? No. That crown belongs to Santi. So to Recap this review in a few points:

-Strong Production
-Continued Progression/Maturation
-Strong Beginning/Poor Ending
-Energetic

Final Score: 84%

The Academy Is:
William Beckett-Vocals
Adam Siska-Bass
Michael Guy Chislett-Guitar
Mike Carden-Guitar
The Butcher-Drums

For fans of: Fallout Boy, Paramore, Valencia

Produced by-Sam Hollander
Recorded at-Avatar Studios Ny, Ny
Label-Decyande/Fueled By Ramen/Atlantic Records

Track listing:
“About A Girl”
“Summer Hair=Forever Young”
“His Girl Friday”
“The Test”
“Rumored Nights”
“Automatic Eyes”
“Crowded Room”-Ft. Gabe Saporta

“Coppertone”
“After the Last Midtown Show”-Ft Andrew Andrew McMahon
“Beware! Cougar!”
“Paper Chase”
“One More Weekend”

The Academy Is..@ myspace.com

Jonezeta Post New Song

Jonezeta have posted a brand new song on their myspace. The bands new album titled Cruel To Be Young is due out Sept. 16th on Tooth And Nail Records.

Underoath Press

Underoath will be on the cover of the October Alternative Press. Cover can be seen here.

Congrats To Norma Jean

Norma Jean had a strong opening week. The band opened at number 29 on The Billboard Top 200 Album Chart, number 2 on The Billboard Top Christian Albums and number 4 on The Billboard Hard Music Chart. Check out the press release and thoughts on the album in the comments.

50 Cent No More..

50 Cent is now the Richest Rapper in the world. He made 150 Million this year knocking off last years Champ Jay-Z who came in second this year with a total of 82 million.

Jared Leto Responds To Virgin Lawsuit

Jared Leto has responded to the Virgin Records lawsuit, who claimed that 30 Seconds to Mars have not fulfilled a five record contract.

“We had been signed to our record contract for nine years,” he wrote. “Basically, under California law, where we live and signed our deal, one cannot be bound to a contract for more than seven years. This is widely known by all the record companies and has been for years. In fact, so aware of it are they that they desperately try to make deals outside of California whenever possible. It is a law that protects people from lengthy, unfair, career-spanning contracts. This law also gave us the legal right to explore other possible opportunities.” -Jared Leto

Are You Down With Oasis

NME has posted an article talking about the new Oasis single. You can also listen to the single there.

Avril Too Sexy For Malaysia?

Avril Lavigne is facing a possible ban in Malaysia after her stage moves were deemed “too sexy” by the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party. Read more about it here.

This Weeks Rockband Releases

It’s that time, Folks. Check out this weeks downloadable content for Rockband.

Devo – “Girl U Want” (new original recording) – 160 MSP – $1.99

Devo – “Through Being Cool” (new original recording) – 160 MSP – $1.99

Duran Duran – “Girls on Film” – 160 MSP – $1.99

Duran Duran – “Rio” – 160 MSP – $1.99

The Janitors – “Get Your Rock On” – 80 MSP – $0.99

These songs will be available for 360 owners tomorrow and Ps3 owners on Thursday.

AC/DC Release Date and Tracklisting

AC/DC will release Black Ice on October 20th.

“Rock’n'Roll Train”
“Skies on Fire”
“Big Jack”
“Anything Goes”
“War Machine”
“Smash n Grab”
“Spoilin’ for a Fight”
“Wheels”
“Decibel”
“Stormy May Day”
“She Likes Rock’n'Roll”
“Money Made”
“Rock’n'Roll Dream”
“Rocking All the Way”
“Black Ice”

ReEducation Through Myspace

Rise Against have posted their new single on Myspace.

The Man Of Iron And The Bat Crazy Boy Come To DVD

This fall will follow a summer of epic movie releases and with fall at the tip of your tongue the horrible taste of vomit known as the holidays follows shortly after. What better way to wash down that awful feeling then the release of Iron Man and The Dark Knight on dvd:

On September 30th Iron man will be releasing three different versions of this glorious dvd, a two-disc special collector’s edition, a special collector’s edition blu-ray disc, and a single-disc edition. that should keep the nerd boy or girl of your life busy for a while.

And after destroying the box office this past month alone The Dark Knight already has its release date to destroy the DVD releases around it this holiday season. With rumors of a November 18th-December 9th release dates fans will also have a choice selection of what to spend their holiday cash on this season. A two-disc DVD edition, a steelbook two-disc special edition, a Batpod collectors edition, a Batman mask special edition and the Blu-Ray edition. You can check out the photos at this site

So with two giant mega blockbusters coming to DVD this fall expect nice stocking stuffer and also ask for the receipt because I’m sure if your like me you will be picking up your copies of each movie when its released, sorry Santa looks like your gonna have to think of something better to give this year.

All Hope Is Not Lost

Check Out 30 second clips of the brand new Slipknot Album below.

 

And for those who may have missed it heres the video for Pyschosocial.

Chiodos To Hit The Road

Chiodos will be hitting the road this Fall on a headlining tour. Joining them will be Silverstein and Escape The Fate. Additionally 2 other bands will be announced in the near future. Dates in the comments.

Fast Times At Retail High

The Academy Is new album goes on sale this Tuesday. Circuit City and Best Buy will have it for 12.99 while Target will have it for 11.99. Look for our review/interview with The Academy Is on Tuesday.

The Hold Steady Vs Radiohead

The Hold Steady have some words for Radiohead.

Rock The Vmas

Mtv has announced the Nominations for Rock Video Of The Year. Nominations can be seen below.

Paramore-CrushCrushCrush

Slipknot-Pyschosocial

Linkin Park-Shadow Of The Day

Foo Fighters-The Pretender

Fallout Boy-Beat It

Atmotour

Atmosphere have released their fall tour dates. Dates/press release can be seen in the comment section.

30 Seconds To 30 Million

30 Seconds To Mars is being sued for 30 million dollars by their label Virgin Records. Check out the details here.

I Cant Keep My Hand Out Of The Cookie Jar

Gym Class Heroes have premiered their new video on Mtv. You can check it out here . Don’t Forget Gym Class Heroes new album comes out Sept. 9th and shortly thereafter they will be hitting the road with The Roots.

Just A Quick Update

For those who haven’t noticed we have 2 new members. Everyone please welcome Ian(Reviews/Interviews/News) and Jerry(News/Interviews/Entertainment) to the fold. Here’s to the future. Thank you all so much for checking us out.

Good Evening Ladies And Gentlemen, We Are Tonights Entertainment.

Hey! my names Jerry I have been heavily involved in the music scene here on long island since 2003 and have been a good friend of Robs since 02. Im here to contribute on this glorious site known as the music scene today and share my views on whats going on with all sorts of things from the news about music to movies to anything really that would pique your interests. I have a lot to say about how things are now with the music scene so hope you all enjoy it. With that said lets party woo!

Lost In the Sounds Of A Release Show

Underoath will be playing an album Release Show(Sept. 2nd.) At Irving Plaza. Tickets are going fast. They can be picked up here. The Red Chord and The Number Twelve Looks Like you will be the support.

The Feeling’s Mutual Post New Video

Head over to Blurt-Online to check out the exclusive premiere of The Feelings Mutual’s “Ring Me Out” video!!

http://www.blurt-online.com/video/view/105/

The Feelings Mutual’s self titled EP is out now on Ares Records.

www.myspace.com/thefeelingsmutual

Test

Test test.

Forum’s Added

http://z10.invisionfree.com/TheMusicSceneToday/index.php

Check them out over there and a link on the side for future reference.

New Layout

Hope you all enjoy it. Also I’m very proud to announce we have another staff member ready to join. Check back a little later tonight for that.

Fueled By Ramen Adds New Bands To Family

Fueled By Ramen Have recently signed 2 new bands to their roster. Welcome A Rocket To The Moon and The Friday Night Boys. You can check them out on tour with Cobra Starship and Hit The Lights this fall.

Is Chinese Democracy Finally On Its Way

According to Billboard a release of Guns And Roses oft delayed may be imminent. Could this finally be it? Will the album live up to its hype and expectations after 14 years?  Only time will tell. Dont forget they will be debuting a new song when Rockband 2 rolls out Sept. 14th.

Trent Reznor And HBO?

Are Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and HBO teaming up? This could be intresting.

Gabe Is Alive!

Contrary to rumors Cobra Starship/former Midtown lead man Gabe Saporta isnt dead. He also took some time out to discuss The Vans Warped Tour. Check out the article here.

My Chemical Time Off

Apparently My Chemical Romance needed some time off. Whats there to make of this? Who Knows. Will we see another MCR album soon? Read the article and find out.

Plus Mcdonalds

Mark Hoppus Is suing a company for 2 millions in damages. Ready for the best part? It involves Mcdonalds. Details here.

A Brand New Metallica Song

Metallica recently played a new song titled Cyanide. Check Out the video below.

Death Magnetic is due for Release on Sept. 12th.

Warped Recap Thus Far

Check out the Photos(new ones added)

http://themusicscenetoday.wordpress.com/2008/08/08/some-warped-photos/

Story Of The Year Interview:

http://themusicscenetoday.wordpress.com/2008/08/08/story-of-the-year-interview/

Gym Class Heroes Interview:

http://themusicscenetoday.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/gym-class-interview/

Fearless Records Sign New Band

Fearless Records have signed Artist Vs Poet. Press release in the comments.

Gym Class Roots Tour Dates

The first batch of the Gym Class Heroes/The Roots tour can be seen in the comment section.

Not Another..

Isaac Hayes has passed away at the age of 65. No cause of death has been reported yet. Rest In Peace, Mr. Hayes.

Rest In Peace

Comedian Bernie Mac has passed Away. He was 50 years old.

For Those Who Care

The 2008 Bejing Olympics have begun today. Most coverage will be on NBC if you all care to check it out.

Rock Band DLC for Tuesday

The Following Roadrunner six pack will be available on Tuesday for 360 owners and Thursday for PS3 owners. The Tracks are listed below.

Airbourne-Runnin’ Wild

Devildriver-Clouds Over California

Dream Theater-Constant Motion

Killswitch Engage-My Curse

Machinehead-Aesthetics Of Hate

Megadeath-Sleepwalker

The pack will be available as a bundle for 480 Microsoft points(5.99) and individually for 80 points(.99 cents) for the first month. The pack will then go up to 800 points(9.99) and 160 points(1.99). Get them while theyre hot.

My recs?

Sleepwalker by Megadeath

Another Favorite Video

This Weeks video is The Classic Crimes new video for Abracadavers

 

Punchline Set To Release New Album

Punchline will release their new album Just Say Yes on Sept. 16th. Pre-orders on the album begin Aug. 12th and comes with a bonus Four song EP.

Story Of The Year Interview

Check out my interview with Dan Marsala vocalist of Story Of The Year below.

You guys just released a new album and it kind of has the best elements of Page Avenue and In The Wake Of Determination. Was this a sound you intended for or would you say its a natural progression the band took?

Dan-It was pretty much natural progression, it kind of naturally came out. We knew we wanted to balance everything good we’ve done in the past, everything that works and we tried to take both elements. We knew we wanted to get a little production value than on our second record cause that one we really stripped it down on purpose like we wanted it to be a raw rock record and this time we wanted to balance out the production value and some of the rawness and stuff. I think that kind of naturally made it a good balance of both records. Musically, we never really think about anything writing its just write music that we like and it just happened to be a good balance of both this time.

You guys recently signed with Epitaph is there a reason for the switch? I mean I know you guys cut ties with Maverick. Can you explain what happened there?

Dan-It was real simple. Maverick actually folded under Warner Brothers and Mavericks no longer a label now web picked up a lot of Maverick bands; actually some maverick bands. We were in negations with Warner Brothers but it didn’t wind up working out so we were kind of left label-less. We sent out a bunch of demos and stuff to new labels and Epitaph was the label. They’ve been big fans of ours since the beginning actually Brett their owner has been trying to sign us since we came out. He didn’t know we were on Maverick already and said I missed it I wish I would have got you guys before. Luckily it worked out this time around and he was way into the band. its a great label a lot of my favorite all time bands are on it h20 being one of them. you know Bad Religion, Nofx, Bouncing Souls all the old punk bands. It’s a great label and were so happy right now.

You guys worked with Dave Feldman again was it like the same as working with him on Page Avenue or was there a difference?

Dan-It was a little different this time on Page Ave we were a brand new band and very impressionable and he kind of took the reigns and we didn’t get to do exactly what we wanted to on that record and this time around now that were a more established band. It was a lot better working environment we both respected each other from a different level and it worked out really good this time we got along really well and he’s a great producer. He only did about 4 songs on this record and a guy named Elvis Baskette did the rest and both guys are amazing. We love it the record turned out great.

Was it the decision at first to go with two producers or was it like after the 4 songs you recorded with Dave and said lets work with another producer and see what we get?

Dan-It kind of just worked out that way it was timing issues originally we were going to go with Feldman then originally we weren’t going to do anything with him cause the timing wasn’t working out then we were only going to do it with Elvis Baskette. The time opened up and we were like OK lets do a few songs with both guys and see what happens. Luckily Elvis mixed the whole record so it all sounds pretty much the same and they both do an amazing job.

I know you guys are going over to the UK in Oct for the Taste Of Chaos. Any Plans to tour Europe or come back to the US after?

Dan-We’re supposed to do the whole International Taste Of Chaos were going to do Europe and Asia and probably Japan and all of that stuff maybe South America on that as well. After that were going to do more US stuff we don’t have anything booked yet. Starting in Jan prob well do US stuff again do a whole run throughout the US.

Are there any bands you’d like to bring on tour with you? Or any bands you wanna bring on tour with you specifically?

Dan-I don’t know there’s a lot of good bands. Touring is a hard thing figuring out who to tour with were touring with a lot of good bands that we’ve toured with in the past like Anberlin some of our best friends, Everytime I Die great band that we’ve toured with before. We have a whole lot of good friends on this tour. It’s not out of the questions that well bring one of these bands so well see.

Whats it like being on Warped again and playing the main stage? Is it a better experience than previous years?

Dan-This year has been amazing for us I’m having the best time on Warped. I don’t know why
this is like our fourth or fifth time doing it now so we kind of know how to take this tour on now. Its hot there’s no escaping the heat and the day we try to hide out and lay low and keep it real. but yeah, were loving it this year.

The Black Swan is in stores now.

Some Warped Photos

Can be checked out right here. I know im a little behind on interviews but I promise they are coming. Story Of The Year will be up a little later so be sure to check back for that.

New Nerd Video

Check out the new Nerd Video Featuring Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco Below.

Hawthorne Halo

Hawthorne Heights Will be playing Halo 3 with fans this Thursday. Details can be found here. Hawthorne Heights new album also hit stores today, make sure to pick it up.

The Ghost On Itunes

Jacks Mannequin new EP is up on I-tunes. The EP is titled The Ghost Overground and contains 2 new songs and 2 live songs.

Underoath Interview

On Wed. I will be interviewing Underoath. Any burning questions for the band? Leave em’ in the comments.

Gym Class Interview

Check out my interview with Disashi and Eric of Gym Class Heroes below:

Any plans to release a physical copy of The Quilt EP or will it remain an I-tunes exclusive?

Disashi-For now its just an I-tunes exclusive. You know within the next couple of months you’ll be able to get the album, anyway.

Eric-It’s hard enough to sell a full length album were not gonna put a little 3 song ep out there.

Disashi-No one buys cds now days anyway until the quilt.

What Was it Like Working With Busta Rhymes?

Disashi-Honestly having him on our album was one of the most surreal experiences. Everytime I listen to the song, not the video just the song itself and then his verse comes im like holy shit thats Busta Rhymes. I remember when I first got into hip hop and seeing his video for woo ha!being like this guy is bringing a new energy to hip hop so he got me into that. Seeing him at the video shoot and coming up to us asking how you guys doing next thing you know hes like a cartoon.

Eric-I used to listen to him growing up which was kind of crazy .To have him come up to us and go your new album is going to be fucking crazy it’s like Busta Rhymes. Is he being serious right now?

Disashi-It’s like is he being crazy? You dont understand! It was surreal and crazy.

Dont forget to pick up Gym Class Heroes new album The Quilt on Sept. 9th.

To Death Magnetic Or Not

Mtv has written an article on Metallicas new video/album. You can read it here.

The Glass Pre-order

You can now pre-order the new Jacks Mannequin CD over here. The album comes out Sept. 30th.

A Maylene Lullaby

A Static Lullaby and Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster will be touring together this fall. A Static Lullaby are also sampling their new album on Myspace. The new album is due out September 9th.

All Time Low Is Poppin’

Check out the new All Time Low video here. The band will also be going on a headlining tour in October. The Maine, Mayday Parade and Every Avenue will be the support. Dates in the comment section.